Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • April 1, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 15 studies could leave students worse off financially. Like many students, those who drop out indefinitely often have federal or private loans to start paying off once they leave school. Those pay- ments are an especially heavy burden for students who didn't finish their degrees. They are three times more likely to default on their loan payments than students who complete their stud- ies, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In Connecticut, the latest federal data show that only 5.1 percent of students at community colleges complete their two-year degrees or certificate programs within two years, even though 33 percent are taking a full-time course load. Mean- while, only 16.2 percent complete community college within three years. Perhaps more striking is what happens to stu- dents over a lon- ger time horizon. Of the students who enrolled at a Connecticut community col- lege for the first time in 2012, just 33.9 percent had completed their degree by 2018, while 50 percent had not com- pleted and were no longer enrolled in any college or university, National Student Clearinghouse data show. Connecticut's six-year completion rate for two-year schools is the fourth- lowest among the states NSC mea- sured, and lower than the U.S. average of 39.2 percent. Ojakian said students leaving school before they finish often comes down to their economic situations beyond just being able to afford tuition. In fact, 44 percent of community-col- lege students in the state — or 22,000 pupils — already go to school for free, thanks mainly to federal aid targeted at low-income residents. "If you look at the reasons that our students don't complete [school], it's not for academic reasons," Ojakian said. "Many students fully covered by [federal Pell grants] and other aid still struggle because there are not the resources available above and beyond to help them stay in school." That includes things like academic and financial advisors for students. The advisor-to-student ratio at CSCU's community colleges is a paltry 900:1, Ojakian said. He said more mon- ey should be invested to beef that up. However, given that the CSCU system faces an expected $57 million budget deficit, Ojakian said he understands investing more in community col- leges will be a challenge. That's why he doesn't think it's a smart idea right now to expand free community college to all residents, if it means not increasing support for existing students. "Opening up access to more students is great, but we don't have the capacity now — in terms of advisors, financial aid, officers, tutoring centers, student suc- cess centers — to be able to handle the students that we currently have," he said. Helping hand How big are the financial challenges facing some community-college stu- dents? At Tunxis Community College they've got a food pantry on campus, according to Gennaro DeAngelis, dean of strategic enrollment management at the Farmington-based school. "We have students that are either homeless or at risk of being homeless," he said. "We have students who cannot secure independent transportation or afford child care." Other unique support programs are being tried where funding is available. MCC's grant-funded retention program, which helped Shahbaz afford her surprise tuition bill, helps stu- dents who experience an unexpected financial challenge, like car troubles, said Samantha Plourd, MCC's assis- tant to the dean of student affairs. It pays for up to three credits of tuition and extends the amount of time students have to pay off their remaining credits. The program, which was adopted in 2016, has aided 200 students so far and doled out just over $79,000. "We understand that life happens, and we don't want to see you drop out just because something happens one semester," Plourd said. Encouraging full-time study Part-time course loads are the norm at community colleges, but administrators and policymakers are trying to find ways to get more students to attend full time. That's because there is a stark con- trast in graduation outcomes. Full-time community-college stu- dents in Connecticut have a six-year graduation rate of nearly 55 percent, while only 18 percent of part-time students complete their studies within that time range, according to NSC data. The full-time completion rate has seen a marked improvement over the past six years, up from 37 percent, but the part- time rate has been mostly stagnant. Eliminating tuition and fees for stu- dents who are currently only partially subsidized could spur more full-time course loads, said Middlesex Commu- nity College CEO Steve Minkler. "The number of heads might not skyrocket, but the credits they're taking could go up, and that's a good thing," Minkler said. Middlesex is one of a number of com- munity colleges that has improved its outcomes over the past decade, more than doubling the percentage of stu- dents who graduate within three years. He said much of that comes down to a focus on advising students about the most efficient path through their studies, offering more flexible course scheduling, and making sure more students within the same program are in the same classes together. The latter effort is aimed at creating a sense of togetherness and belonging for students, with the aim of retaining them into the next school year. "Now you've got a higher touch with your fellow students," he said. Ojakian said higher-ed overseers have been discussing ways to encour- age degree completion. That might include guaranteeing a flat tuition rate for full-time students for the duration of their enrollment, or offering dis- counted tuition for those who complete an associate degree and move on to a CSCU four-year university. "These are all philosophical concepts and policy discussions that we're having, but absent additional funding," Ojakian paused, "we'll continue to discuss." An outsider's perspective on free-college debate By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com T he phrase "free college" has dominated the national and local discourse on higher edu- cation in recent years. Right now, 15 states offer some kind of free-college program, while another 16 are con- sidering it, according to The Educa- tion Trust, a national nonprofit that advocates for minority and low- income students. There are currently several bills making their way through Con- necticut's state legislature aimed at expanding access to cost- or debt- free education at Connecticut's com- munity colleges. As director of Georgetown Univer- sity's Center on Education and the Workforce, Anthony Carnevale has examined many free-college programs and proposals. So far, he doesn't like what he sees. "Most of the propos- als, including the national conversation in the Democratic party about free college, have become very unsophisti- cated, very fast," Carnevale said. "The tragic flaw in free college is that it inevitably shifts the money toward families that need it the least." Federal and other financial aid is already available to lower-income students, so free college programs would largely be aiding more middle- income families that don't qualify for full or partial assistance. The ability to attain a degree beyond a high school diploma is imperative in today's economy, in which some 60 percent of jobs require at least some post-secondary education, Carnevale said. But the way he sees it, legislative proposals for free college are like put- ting a Band-aid on a broken leg. Carnevale thinks fixing the problem would require reforms to meld the K-12 public school system with two-year col- leges — essentially creating a K-14 sys- tem — and placing more responsibility on high schools in offering job-training opportunities like internships. Anthony Carnevale, Director, Center on Education and the Workforce, Georgetown University Steve Minkler, CEO, Middlesex Community College Community college graduation rates The data show a breakdown of six-year graduation rates at Connecticut and U.S. community colleges. Only one-third of community-college students in Connecticut who entered school in 2012 graduated by 2018. 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Connecticut 29.73 31.91 32.71 34.19 33.55 32.82 33.89 United States 36.29 39.87 39.13 38.2 39.3 37.53 39.22 Source: National Student Clearinghouse CT student loan default rates Paying back federal student loans has proven more difficult for community-college students in Connecticut, compared to those who attend four-year colleges. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 0% 3% 6% 9% 12% 15% Default rate Private, nonprofit 4-year colleges Public 4-year colleges Commmunity colleges

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